"No Excuse," a book published by the Machinery Industry Press, has an eye-catching book review from the New York Times and high-profile information about the author on its cover.

The book is about Western management theory and methods -- a popular topic for the publishing industry in China today. It topped the selling list for several months and sold about 2 million copies in China last year.

But until the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) began to make serious moves to crack down on "fake books" recently, few Chinese readers realized the bestseller was a fake, with scrabbled contents, a forged name and fabricated publication information.

And many such fakes are still flooding the shelves in the bookstores today.

The GAPP is now taking action against these fakes. This move to set its house in order is expected to better protect customers' interests.

The fake books have greatly harmed the accountability of the country's book industry. But they differ from pirated versions of legitimate books, which are normally produced by illegal booksellers and sold at private bookstands.

These other fakes, such as "No Excuse," are usually published by legitimate publishing houses and distributed through lawful channels like the Xinhua Book Store chains. That means more cheating is involved than in pirated books.

Some of the books are written by Chinese compilers but have made-up foreign names as their authors and fake reviews from noted foreign press. Some of the fakes borrow overseas bestsellers' names and related information while the contents are just fabricated.

Readers often get confused and the interests of the law-abiding publishing houses that import the original books get hurt.

For example, only 20,000 copies of "No Excuse," the real Chinese version of "No Excuse Leadership: Lessons from the US Army's Elite Rangers," authored by Brace E. Barber and published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Press, were sold.

Some counterfeit books use the names of popular Chinese writers. The authors' interests and reputation are often harmed. Ye Yonglie, a writer based in Shanghai, has found more than 40 different fake books under his name since 1994. Other victims include many Chinese celebrities and popular writers.

According to a survey conducted by the Zion Consulting Co Ltd, a company based in Beijing, there were about 106 kinds of fake books on Western management in Beijing's book market this January, involving 20 publishing houses. The annual circulation of fake books is estimated at 8 million copies.

The big influx of fake books into bookstores is worrisome. Together with pirated books, they greatly hurt the accountability of our book industry as well as the interests of readers.

Readers can hardly identify the fakes as they are often designed and printed well. They are published by real publishing houses. What makes the fake books more deceptive to readers are the names of famous authors and "reviews" on their covers.

The fakes have fabricated or scrabbled contents, which are usually rough and deceptive. They provide readers with nothing useful. Worse, a few fake books even have illegal contents. Feng Jicai, a noted writer and artist recently protested about a fake book called "Behind the White House" that used his name. Feng claims that the stories are absurd and the book even contains some pornography.

How can these feigned books flood the bookstores?

Driven by the huge profits from such books, some publishing houses are busy keeping the wheel of fortune running while giving up their code of conduct. A few greedy people in the industry have tried every means possible to manoeuvre the production of fakes, while some irresponsible publishing houses have given them the green light in exchange for economic returns.

There are also loopholes in the management system. Currently it is not necessary for publishing houses to register the copyright of their imported books. As long as the fake books get a book registration number, they can get published. The grey area between the book number registration system and copyright registration system leaves room for those who produce fake Chinese versions of imported books.

There is no specific legislation to address the fakes. The Regulation on Publishing Management, the Copyright Law, the Law Against Unfair Competition and the Law on the Protection of Customers' Rights and Interests are promulgated to crack down on the fakes. But there is no specific law targeting them. And the current punishment for producers of fake books is not severe enough to stop the business.

If things continue like this, the domestic publishing industry will fully lose its credibility and competence.

The Chinese Publishers' Association has issued a proposal, calling for the industry to honour their professional ethics and enhance discipline. Readers are also encouraged to ask for compensation from publishing houses according to the law.

The GAPP issued an urgent circular on February 24 about a special inspection on fake books throughout the country. It requires all press and publication firms to inspect fake books in their regions. The head of the GAPP has also vowed to crack down on fakes without mercy.

The inspection campaign cannot be a final solution to the problem. Strict legislation and better management are needed in the months and years to come.

(China Daily March 14, 2005)